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Niantic are to withdraw support for 32-bit Android devices

Nutter t.KK

can Mega Evolve!
https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/32-bit-android-discontinued-support/

To put simply, this means many (mostly older) Android Devices will not longer be able to run Pokémon Go.

While Niantic are currently delaying the actual date when this is going to happen. This is see how much of the Android player base is on 64-bit Android devices.

So How can I tell if my Device is 32-bit or 64-bit?


First, if your Device was released before 2015, then it is 32-bit. This is because 2015 is roughly the year when 64-bit devices and 64-bit versions of Android came to the market. (Actually the Support came in late 2014 with Android Lolipop/5.0 which is the Minimum Pokémon Go supports. But there are 32-bit devices with M/6.0 running on it, such as Asus Nexus 7 2013.)

You can try and check your phones settings for a "About device" or something similar. Look (and occasionally Tap) for Android and Kernel. If you find some terms about 64 bit or something with "_64" on it. Then you've got a 64-bit device.

EDIT: The info on this following site is doesn't track the "Bit-ness" of your Devices OS, which is more important for running 64-bit software. --- Many sites will track which commonly used Phone and Tablets have what type of hardware installed. This site is one of them. https://www.devicespecifications.com/en Find your EXACT device. Scroll down to SOC, then find the entry called "CPU Bits" This will tell you if your hardware can support 64-bit software, but won't tell you which version Android you're running.

Finally, there is a App for this: CPU-Z https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cpuid.cpu_z&hl=en This needs to be installed in the device that you want to check. Once installed, check the System tab, and Kernel Architecture. Again, if it has 64 at the end, you're good. EDIT: Kernel the name of the part of the any OS software. It's primary purpose of it is to talk to your hardware, and is an important part of the OS software.

A guide that I based the above section on: https://www.addictivetips.com/android/check-android-device-is-64-bit-or-32-bit/

My Phone is 32-bit, Can I make it 64-bit?

Not really.

If your Device has 32-bit CPU/SOC, then definite No. The 32-bit/64-bit is actually physically part of the device. The only way to change it to use a new device.

For those with Motorola devices and any other device with the combination of a 64-bit CPU and a 32-bit Kernel/OS, could be updated with custom firmware. The replacement/custom firmware may be rare to find. and depending on the custom firmware update could result in a banned Pokémon Go account. I'd check sites like XDA. The process will wipe your device memory.

Can I keep with my old versions of the App?

As a Online game, Saldy no. You need to be on the latest or very recent update to play.

What about the Apple iPhone?

This was an Android update, So no known changes to the Apple devices at this time.

(iOS 11 or later, with iPhones 6S or later are 64-bit, if you need to check.)

Personal Thoughts


I was half expecting this to happen at some point in the life span of the app given that it's going as good as has been. As that almost all phones today are 64-bit, it's going to have to happen at soon. Personally, I think the writing has been on the wall for some time that this was going to happen, especially PCs took the change. Google has required all developers have a native 64-bit app for any new/updated apps since 2018.

Out of my small collection of Android devices, only 3 of them are 64-bit, and a few of the others can't support Pokémon Go today. (Most of the devices I own are older devices, and a few of them are tablets.)
 
Last edited:

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
the rare combination of a 64-bit CPU and a 32-bit Kernal/OS

Just wanted to point out that that having a 64 bit CPU and a 32 bit operating system doesn't actually seem that rare. It's the case with me personally on my one and a half year old phone, and judging by reactions on The Silph Road, it was the case for a whole lot of other people, to the point that people are speculating that Niantic didn't realize this was possible and/or common, and that's why they're delaying.

Many sites will track which commonly used Phone and Tablets have what type of hardware installed. This site is one of them. https://www.devicespecifications.com/en Find your EXACT device. Scroll down to SOC, then find the entry called "CPU Bits" This will tell you if you hardware can support 64-bit software, but won't tell you which version Android you're running

As such, this website isn't all that helpful. Looking at my phone's page on it, it claims that the phone is 64 bit, but I know for a fact that that's only the CPU, not the operating system. As far as I've been able to tell, there's really no way to know whether the phone's operating system is 32 or 64 bit before buying a new phone, barring finding people talking online about the exact model from personal experience.
 

Nutter t.KK

can Mega Evolve!
Just wanted to point out that that having a 64 bit CPU and a 32 bit operating system doesn't actually seem that rare. It's the case with me personally on my one and a half year old phone, and judging by reactions on The Silph Road, it was the case for a whole lot of other people, to the point that people are speculating that Niantic didn't realize this was possible and/or common, and that's why they're delaying.



As such, this website isn't all that helpful. Looking at my phone's page on it, it claims that the phone is 64 bit, but I know for a fact that that's only the CPU, not the operating system. As far as I've been able to tell, there's really no way to know whether the phone's operating system is 32 or 64 bit before buying a new phone, barring finding people talking online about the exact model from personal experience.

I've update my Initial post, with the changes indicated with your info.

As for 32-bit Os on 64-bit SOC/CPU. It would be an issue with early adopters having issues 64-bit. In the PC world, the switch to 64-bit really took off around the launch of Windows Vista. (There was a 64-bit version of XP as well as CPUs before that date.) There were a lot of compatibility issues with many devices being unsupported due to two sets of changes in Vista The changes to 64-bit (which dropped support for the older 16-bit software) and how Vista changed the way drivers work. I think something similar happened back with early Android devices. Plus I think many companies are cheep and didn't really see the need to move.

As far I can tell Motorola is bad in updating their Android devices. I personally updated my old Motorola device back in the day to support few apps that I really wanted to use. Also, an active fork of that update is now in LineageOS, which seems to support more modern devices, at least compared to my 10 year old Phone.
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
Last edited:

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
Last edited:

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
iOS 12 iPad Air 2 is what I’m using.
You're ok for now. iOS 11 is what can't play it. That said, is there any way you can update it to a newer version if need be?
 

gregjammer

Feather Trainer
I have a samsung galaxy j7 Model#:SM-J700T that hasn't played GO in a while, and now w/ the october cutoff for Android 5+(Lollipop), I wonder if that means my phone can't run GO, despite its update to Android 7+(Nougat), due to its starting Android model being Lollipop??
 

Rahus

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Doesn't hurt my feelings whatsoever.

As long as I can still transfer my Pokemon onto Home, I'm alright with it.
 
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